Embracer Splitting Into Three Companies: Middle-Earth Enterprises & Friends, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Asmodee Group
Embattled game company Embracer Group has announced its intent to split into three separate companies: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends.
Each company will be a separate, publicly listed company, Embracer said. The move comes after a brutal period of restructuring that has seen hundreds of staff lose their job, multiple studios shut down, and the sale of developers including Borderlands maker Gearbox and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake maker Saber Interactive.
The largest shareholder, controversial CEO Lars Wingefors, intends to form a new long-term ownership structure, and “will remain a long-term, active, committed and supportive owner of all three entities,” Embracer said.
Here’s the breakdown: Asmodee is a tabletop games publisher; Coffee Stain & Friends will focus on indie and A/AA premium and free-to-play games for PC, console, and mobile; and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends will focus on AAA game development and publishing for PC and consoles, as well as the stewardship of The Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider intellectual property.
Digging into the details, Asmodee has over 300 owned IPs, including board games Ticket to Ride, 7 Wonders, Azul, CATAN, Dobble, and Exploding Kittens. Asmodee is currently developing licensed tabletop games based on The Lord of the Rings, Marvel, Game of Thrones, Netflix, Lego, and Star Wars, including the recently released trading card game Star Wars: Unlimited.
Coffee Stain & Friends includes Coffee Stain, Ghost Ship, Tarsier, Tuxedo Labs, as well as THQ Nordic, and Amplifier Game Invest. Intellectual properties include Deep Rock Galactic, Goat Simulator, Satisfactory, Wreckfest, Teardown, Valheim (part-owned), as well as more than 200 other IPs. Free-to-play operations include Easybrain, Deca, CrazyLabs, and Cryptic. Intellectual properties include Sudoku.com, Blockudoku, and Jigsaw Puzzle. Published free-to-play games based on licensed IPs include Star Trek Online and D&D Neverwinter Online.
And finally, Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends will focus on The Lord of the Rings and other key IP, Embracer said. Owned studios include Crystal Dynamics, Dambuster Studios, Eidos-Montréal, Flying Wild Hog Studios, Tripwire, Vertigo Games, Warhorse Studios, and 4A Games. IPs include Dead Island, Killing Floor, Kingdom Come Deliverance, The Lord of the Rings, Metro and Tomb Raider, among many others. This group will include publisher PLAION, Freemode, and Dark Horse.
“This is the start of a new chapter, a chapter that I intend to remain part of as an active, committed, and supportive shareholder of all three new entities, with an evergreen horizon.
“This move has been made with the intention to unleash the full potential of each team and provide them with their own leadership and strategic direction,” Wingefors commented. “This is the start of a new chapter, a chapter that I intend to remain part of as an active, committed, and supportive shareholder of all three new entities, with an evergreen horizon. This move towards three independent companies reinforces Embracer’s vision of backing entrepreneurs and creators with a long-term mindset, allowing them to continue to deliver unforgettable experiences for gamers and fans across the globe.”
Embracer has officially let go of 1,387 staff since its high-profile restructuring began in June last year. Embracer’s total headcount had reduced by 904 during the second quarter of its financial year, then by another 483 in the third quarter. That amounted to 8% of the group’s global workforce. The company also canceled 29 unannounced games during the two quarters.
Embracer Group’s financial struggles began following the collapse of a $2 billion deal, reportedly with Saudi government funded company Savvy Games Group. The Swedish firm has since come under fire for the sweeping cuts that followed its acquisition spree. In January it emerged that Embracer had canceled a new Deus Ex game that was two years in development and laid off some staff at Eidos Montreal. Some studios that Embracer Group has shut down so far are Saints Row developer Volition and Timesplitters developer Free Radical Design.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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